Sheltering in a Tornado Event

The City does not have public storm shelters because while they may seem like a good idea, they often come with more risks than benefits to residents including:

Traveling to a public storm shelter could put you at greater risk than if you sheltered in place. Traffic is likely to get congested if everyone is heading toward one location.

Tornadoes can happen at night. If a storm wakes you at 2 a.m. you likely won’t have enough time to gather your family, load them into a car and drive to a storm shelter. Sheltering in place affords you the quickest and best protection for a short notice event

Opening public buildings as storm shelters gives a false sense of security and offers no more protection than a well-built residential structure.

The City has not built public storm shelters because it would be impossible to shelter even a small percentage of the population. If we were to do this, we are required to build enough shelters to hold more than over 100,000 residents.

Mobile Homes are not safe shelters - pay close attention to weather conditions and make plans before the storm arrives to get to different location quickly

Apartment dwellers should have a plan in place to get to the lowest level of the complex. Contact your Leasing Office for more information

Do not attempt to outrun a tornado in your automobile, seek shelter inside a nearby building.

If stranded outside lie down in a ditch or low lying area away from the vehicle, but remain aware of possible flash flooding

Do not seek shelter underneath a bridge or overpass

Accommodation requests for persons with disabilities should be made by contacting Taylor Lough via phone at 972-744-4208, via email at ADACoordinator@cor.gov, or by appointment at 411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson, TX 75080.